Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – What was intended to be a 9-inning non-conference game turned into a 12-inning test of wills that lasted more than four hours before the visiting Jamestown College Jimmies outlasted the Northern State Wolves by a final score of 7-6 Wednesday afternoon at NSU's Fossum Field.
 
The win marks the third straight for the Jimmies, who improved to 14-9-1 on the season.  NSU slipped to 5-12 overall following the brief foray into non-conference play, which marked the team's earliest home-opener since the 2007 season.
 
NSU found themselves down by a 5-1 count after four innings of play, aided by a four-run second inning for Jamestown.  Both teams then breezed through the fifth, sixth and top of the seventh innings before the Wolves mounted their comeback run.
 
Buddy Traxler led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, followed by a Jose Figueroa walk.  Jack Thompson rapped out a sharp single to center, scoring Traxler from second and advancing Figueroa to third.  Figueroa, who finished the day going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a pair of runs driven in, then scored on a Cameron Lehner sacrifice fly that made it a 5-3 game and forced the Jimmies into a pitching change.
 
Kassidy Gaines came on in relief to start the eighth inning for the Wolves, mowing down the Jimmies in short order.  Gaines racked up a strikeout and allowed a walk, but got out of the inning after Matt Atcher was caught stealing.
 
The Wolves took advantage of four hits in the bottom of the eighth to tie things up.  After a Zach Miller single and another Traxler double, Figueroa picked up an RBI ground-out, followed by an RBI single from Thompson that made it a 5-5 game.  The Jimmies and reliever Nick Smart managed to work their way out of the jam, however, despite having the go-ahead run in scoring position.
 
Neither team could generate momentum in the ninth, sending the game into extra innings for the first time all season for the Wolves.
 
The Jimmies broke the stalemate in the top of the 12^th, scoring a pair of unearned runs to go up 7-5.  Jamestown pushed the go-ahead run across after NSU's Miller was called for a balk.  Derek Wallace followed with a single to score what proved to be an important insurance run before Miller induced an inning-ending ground-out to keep it to a two-run gap.
 
The Wolves generated their own excitement in the bottom of the 12^th, putting two runners aboard and moving them around the bases on a Casey Bohms sacrifice bunt.  Bohms laid down the bunt with two strikes in the count to move Robbie Rocamora to third and Miller to second. 
 
NSU took advantage of the play with Figueroa's ensuing single through the right side that plated Rocamora from third and moved Miller – who represented the tying run – to third.  Figueroa, who was the go-ahead ad game-winning run, stole second, giving the Wolves two runners in scoring position with one out in the inning.
 
Jamestown reliever Chris Combo, however, worked his way out of the jam to preserve the Jimmie win, using back-to-back fly-ball outs to end the inning and the game.
 
Miller absorbed the loss for the Wolves despite giving up no earned runs and striking out six in his four innings of work.
 
The Wolves resume Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Saturday and Sunday, traveling to Minnesota, Crookston for a four-game set with the Golden Eagles.  First pitch is set for noon both days.